The Coalition of Muslim Organisations,Ghana (COMOG) on Wednesday condemned the recent public burning of the Holy Quran by Pastor Terry Jones in the United States of America.
A statement signed by Major Alhaji Mohammed Essah (Rtd), National President of COMOG in Accra said the action of Pastor Jones was a deliberate provocation designed to enrage and drive peace-loving Muslims into violent reactions in order to establish an excuse and justification to label Muslims as “Violent People”.
It said, Pastor Jones had threatened to burn 200 copies of the Quran last year but was publicly condemned overwhelmingly by President
Barack Obama.
In addition, opinion leaders, civil society organisations including the Christian Council of Ghana had also condemned the act compelling him to desist from perpetrating the action.
The statement said: “Pastor Jones carried out his threat by burning the Holy Quran in public, and threatened to put the Holy Prophet on public trial and lead an anti-Islamic procession in front of the largest Mosque in the US.”
It called for concrete steps to prevent Pastor Jones from committing his acts likely to trigger uncontrollable religious upheavals worldwide.
“Pastor Jones may have gotten away with burning a Quran, but the story may be different if he proceeds to carry out his threat to
ridicule the Holy Prophet,” the statement added.
COMOG therefore, appealed to civil society organisations worldwide to prevail upon Pastor Jones from “starting a fire capable of developing into a raging inferno that cannot be easily controlled or stopped from spreading let alone be quenched.”
Pastor Jones, who heads a 50–member congregation made the threat last year, followed by Switzerland which banned the building of mosques with minarets.
France had just passed a law banning Muslim women from wearing veils and turmoil was already spreading from one Muslim country to the other in the Middle East, the statement said.
It cautioned that the co-ordinated demonisation and persecution of Muslims and Islam must stop now.